Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-08-27
pY Or. GEORGE ). nutI..

Everybody who sees the electric light ad-
mits its vast superiority over other methods Of
Illumination, and visit to a plant shows
them how readily the light is developed and
how perfectly controlled. However, one quss-
ton is constantly being asked by interested
observers. "What makes the lghtsn Why
should ii take such powerful engine to spin
around that small mass OF wires called the
armature2 To answer this question fully and
completely, would tar the beat electricians;
light which can and should be understood by
every average minded peraon. II is often
thought that the light comes from the friction
between the brushes and the copper band
called the commutator. but there is but
slight amount OF friction there; also the whole
revolving part called the armature, is almost
friciionless, as it touches nowhere save in its
smooth bearings, Take of the belt and cut
of the connections to the line wires, and see
how easily you can spin the aruature around;
now switch on but one of these 1000 CANDLE.
power lamps, and it will take the combined
strength of eight or ten men to revolve it so a.
to properly light the lamp. Here's the mys~
terry; and to save lot of technical terms and
the writing of small volume we will say
briefly that the muscular force of their arms
is by means of this peculiar construction Of the
dynamo, with its mass of insulated copper wire
revolving in the presence of the strong field
with thick wire) converted into electrical force
which, travelling over the wires, lights the
lamps. There is nothing very strange about
this conversion Of muscular force into elecrris
cal force, we see this process OF transforms
ton Of one force into another going on con-.
constantly in all directions. We put coal into
the furnace, heat is the result; the heat forced
by means OF the water in the boiler is cons
verted into mechanical force, this drives the
engine; the mechanical force, by means OF
the electrical machine, the dynamo, is trans-
formed into electrical force and this suffers
transformation again in the lamp and resolves
itself into heat and light
How does the electrical current make The
light? Trace it through the lamp and you
will notice that it passes down one carbon rod,
Jumps across the intervening air space to the
other then down it and out to the line wire to
the next lamp. Now as the current
leaps from one carbon to the other, las it
must, for the rods are kept apart by
the complex mechanism of the lamp it
meets with tremendous resistance, the small
space OF air between the points being very
bad conductor of electricity. The result Is
that the carbon is heated till it becomes vol-
tilted, and this vapor conducts the current,
and in its highly incandescent state furnishes
the light. So the heat and light in the lamp
comes from the resistance opposed to the
current. If one opposes resistance to re-
volving wheel he can readily feel the heat and
if sufficient heat is developed light will be the
result. Every one of the lamps consumes
nearly one horse power, and 30 by counting
the lamps in operation one can estimate the
power the engine is exerting.